Alex Cora had the chance to catch up with Joe Mazzulla when both the Red Sox and the Celtics were in Philadelphia.
The Red Sox manager offered some sound advice to the first-year head coach as he prepared for Boston's two games against the Philadelphia 76ers, which had the C's coming back home with the Eastern Conference semifinals tied 2-2 before an ugly Game 5 loss at TD Garden on Wednesday.
The 113-105 defeat had a lot of outside noise coming in -- much of it calling for Mazzulla's job despite the fact he wasn't missing free throws or wide-open 3-pointers against Joel Embiid and company. Sometimes it's hard to ignore what's being said, especially when you represent a city like Boston. Cora knows as much and understands the pressure that comes with trying to lead a team to a championship.
So Cora offered up a little advice to Mazzulla.
"As far as the other stuff, the noise, you guys know how I feel about it," Cora said during his weekly appearance on WEEI's "Gresh & Fauria," as transcribed by Audacy. "You have to try to cancel it. The players have to stay away from it because it gets loud, and if you're going to listen to it, use it the right way, don't use it against you. That's one of the things that makes our city, our town special, everybody is passionate about it. Everybody has gotten used to winning, and they're thirsty for more, they're hungry for more. ...
"The expectations are high, you've just gotta keep going. Put your head down and keep grinding. They won two games in a row a lot of times this season, so they can do it. It's just a matter of taking care of -- I know this sounds very cliché-like -- quarter by quarter, play by play, whatever it is. Do what you're supposed to do and get back to Boston, Mother's Day, win that series and move on."
It's important for coaches and players to not get wrapped up in any negativity, especially in an important series that holds a lot of expectations.
We'll see if Cora's advice sticks when the Celtics play a win-or-go-home Game 6 on Thursday night against the 76ers. Tipoff from Wells Fargo Center is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
